Trading well is key to building that high upside, title winning squad but anyone who has played in a draft league will know exactly how difficult it can be to get a deal over the line!
The art to trading is knowing who to target and when to strike as well as which players to use in the trades. This weekly segments looks into the strategy of selling high on those overachievers and buying low on those studs that haven’t performed as expected…
Here’s the trades we recommend ahead of Gameweek 16…
Buy Low
Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United – Midfielder
Unless you roster Bruno Fernandes in Fantrax this season, it’s gone under the radar just how bad he has been at times this season, particularly in the last month or so. His recent 21.5 point score against Arsenal in GW14 put an end to a run of three consecutive scores of 2 points, far from good enough for the player who was first off the board in many leagues this summer.
He didn’t fare much better last week against Crystal Palace either but you’d think it is fairly certain he will return to form sooner rather than later with a friendly fixture list coming up. The new manager bounce has been taken on board by Fred more than Fernandes (yes, really) but the Portuguese playmaker is too good to let that continue.
Now is the time to get him in but it is very tricky to know exactly how to target the out of form United star. Owners will be reluctant to let go of their prize asset but you now have plenty of evidence to throw at them to support the fact that he isn’t what he was. I’d be reluctant to give up Manchester City assets like Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish but would probably offer up the similarly inconsistent Mason Mount to grab Fernandes. Packaging high flyers like Jarrod Bowen with another dependable option should be enough to get the United man in ahead of the Christmas schedule.
Raul Jimenez – Wolves – Forward
The form of Raul Jimenez has almost completely disappeared in recent weeks. Favourable fixtures against Norwich City and Burnley saw the Mexican score a very disappointing 2 and 3.5 points respectively while it was little surprise to see him score only 1 point against Liverpool last week.
Jimenez faces another uphill task to score points again this week with a trip to Manchester City so I would wait until this week is over before pouncing for the Wolves star. He is still a fantastic Fantrax asset, as shown by the fact he scored double figures five of his last six starts prior to the Norwich game.
Depending on how badly it goes against Manchester City, you may not need to offer too much for Jimenez ahead of a very mixed fixture schedule. Offering the likes of Dwight McNeil, Emi Buendia or Bukayo Saka (I’d normally take Jimenez over every single one of these players) could be enough to get the Jimenez owner interested.
Sell High
James Maddison – Leicester City – Midfielder
Former Fantrax darling James Maddison has gone from droppable to “back” in the space of two weeks. The Leicester star exploded into life against Watford with a 37 point haul, backed up by 21 points against Southampton, getting on the scoresheet in both games to give those that took him in the second round of drafts a long awaited reward for their patience.
Maddison struggled again against Aston Villa last Sunday though, causing me to wonder whether the 58 points scored over two weeks was a flash in the pan. It’s not too late to cash those points in if your roster Maddison though as Leicester face struggling Newcastle GW 16 at home, giving him a chance to bag another haul.
Leicester’s fixture take a nosedive after the visit of the Toon Army though which will make it much tougher to sell Maddison (or any Leicester asset). My advice would be to sell now while the big hauls are fresh in the memory and while the numerous disappointing outings at the beginning of the season aren’t.
Emmanuel Dennis – Watford – Forward
Did you know that Emmanuel Dennis is currently the second highest scoring Fantrax forward and the fifth highest scoring player overall? No, me neither!
When you have a quick look at the Watford forward’s recent form, it’s easy to see why he is so high up. He only scored 7 points against Manchester City at the weekend but his previous scores read as 18.5, 26, 29, 6 and 33.5, all during a run of fixtures which look pretty horrendous on paper.
Dennis is the perfect sell high candidate for me right now. Watford’s fixtures are taking a turn for the better (they couldn’t be any worse) and the Nigerian is in unbelievable form. His value won’t be higher than it is right now but is set to take a sharp dip as he leaves for the African Cup of Nations at the beginning of next month.
Fantasy Football 92 